Conventional hand tools, such as conventional fingernail and toe nail clippers, have proven problematic to use, particularly when used by the elderly, arthritic individuals, stroke victims and others who have limited range of arm, wrist and hand movement.
More specifically, conventional fingernail and toe nail clippers have a spring handle that pivots about a fulcrum. Connected to the handle is a lever that is configured to downwardly press against the handle, so as to cause cutting edges formed on the handle to contact each other. However, the handle and lever must be in alignment with each other during the nail clipping operation to achieve efficient operation of the device. Movement of the handle and lever into alignment during the nail clipping operation requires extensive manipulation of the handle and lever and extensive dexterity on the part of the user. Such extensive manipulation and need for extensive dexterity is problematic for elderly persons, arthritic individuals, stroke victims and others having limited arm, wrist and hand movement.
As another example, with respect to surgical instruments, it is often necessary to perform surgery on difficult-to-reach areas of the human body without obstructing the surgeon's field of view. This is also true with respect to veterinarians who perform surgery on animals. Also, in the specific case of surgery, it is also often necessary for the surgeon to use one surgical instrument, such as scissors, to perform a clipping/cutting procedure on a body structure, while using another surgical instrument, such as forceps or clamps, to hold the body structure. These two surgical instruments typically have significantly different fixed configurations. Having to stock a multiplicity of surgical instruments in hospital inventory with significantly different fixed configurations for performing different surgical functions is inconvenient and costly.
As a further example, with respect to wire and bolt cutters, it is sometimes necessary to sever cables and bolts located in confined spaces and recesses. This may be necessary when performing machinery repair, remodeling/renovating buildings, rescue of persons trapped by fallen building structure and debris, and rescue of persons trapped in damaged automobiles due to a collision. Use of cable and bolt cutters having configurations with cutting edges in a permanent, fixed orientation can make such cutting operations more difficult.
Attempts have been made to address the considerations mentioned hereinabove with respect to the structure and use of hand tools. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,062,666 titled “Nail Clipper” issued Nov. 12, 1991, in the name of Jaw-Shiunn Tsay relates to an improved nail clipper.
According to the Tsay patent, the nail clipper comprises an elongate lever, a short upper body, a long lower body and a joint pin to assemble the lever and both the upper and the lower bodies together at their front sections, so that the lever can be pressed down to compress the upper body downward on the lower body. The nail clipper further comprises two opposed pairs of curved cutting edges provided on opposite sides of the upper and the lower bodies (see FIGS. 3, 4, 5 and 6 of the Tsay patent). The cutting edges are fixed at two positions, one position being perpendicular to the other position. This patent states that an advantage of the nail clipper is that the two pairs of cutting edges can easily clip nails on the other hand after finishing one hand.
However, the Tsay patent discloses that the cutting edges are fixed at two positions, one position being perpendicular to the other position. Fixing the cutting edges at two positions may nonetheless require a user to extensively manipulate the nail clipper to clip nails. Requiring the user to extensively manipulate the nail clipper to clip nails is inconvenient for the user.
Another attempt to address the considerations mentioned hereinabove with respect to the structure and use of hand tools is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,742,957 titled “Surgical Clamp” issued Jul. 3, 1973, in the name of Jack H. White. The White patent relates to surgical and like clamps.
According to the White patent, a clamp includes a set of jaws including a gripping portion and an actuating portion and pin means pivotally connecting the jaws for movement between open and closed positions within a first plane. A set of handles comprising crank arms are disposed and operable between the open and closed positions within a second plane. The second plane is mutually intersecting with the first plane and the crank arms are connected to the actuating portion of the jaws at the junctures of respective leg portions of the crank arms. As mentioned in the White patent, this connection comprises a hinge for infinite angular positioning of the first plane containing the jaws with respect to the second plane containing the crank arms. Also, the leg portions of the crank arms are pivotally joined as by a pin, which in the illustrated embodiment comprises a screw, to provide for opening and closing movement of the handles.
However, the White patent discloses that opening and closing movement of the handles is accomplished by adjustment of a screw (i.e., pin) that joins the handles. Only allowing opening and closing movement of the handles by means of a screw creates unnecessary delay in adjusting the clamp before surgery, readjusting the clamp during surgery, if necessary, and releasing the clamp after surgery because a screw driver is apparently needed to adjust the screw. Such a delay before, during and after a surgical procedure is undesirable.
Another attempt to address the considerations mentioned hereinabove with respect to the structure and use of hand tools is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 2,020,242 titled “Swivel Head Tool” issued Nov. 5, 1935, in the name of G. W. Geddes. The Geddes patent relates to tools in which the jaws may be placed in various angular positions relative to an operating handle system.
According to the Geddes patent, a bolt clipper embodying a jaw lever system and an actuating handle lever system are provided. The jaw levers can be adjusted to various angular positions relative to the plane of the handle levers so as to permit operating swinging movement of the jaws. For this purpose, joints embody mating spherical surfaces and tail portions of the jaw levers are provided with shallow recesses of spherical contour, which receive interposed balls on which at least of one of the parts turns (see column 2, lines 15-37 of the Geddes patent). This patent also discloses that handle members are apparently pivotally mounted by means of a screw-like pin.
However, although the Geddes patent discloses handle members that are pivotally mounted, this patent apparently requires adjustment of a screw-like pin in order to return the handle members to their default position. Requiring adjustment of the screw-like pin in order to return the handle members to their default position is inconvenient for the user because a screw driver is apparently needed to adjust the screw-like pin.
Although the approaches recited hereinabove disclose various configurations of hand tools, the approaches recited hereinabove do not appear to disclose the invention described and claimed hereinbelow.